Automatic controlling mechanism for flour-packing machines



May 8, 1923- H. O'B. HARDING AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR FLOUR PACKING mcnxuss Filed June 1, 1920 INVENTOR l HENRY O'B- HARDING WITNESS:

ATTORN EVS a: retain;

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HENRY OB.. nnn nrnmnr ivrrivit'nnronrs,,trrnnnsorn, nssreriton Town-SERUM;

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SO TA.

MINNESQTA,1A' eoitron'n'rrbzw 'BF MINIVE AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING 'rirnoririmsizr, iron zirtoiiitrnofiiuetmaeniitns.1

Application filed June 1,

To all whom it may concern: I r j Be it known thatl, HENRY 07B. H iiDrNG, a citizen of the United States, resid ng at Minneapolis, in the county ofHenn'epm and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new, and useful lmprovements in Automatic Controlling 'Mechanism for Flour-Packing Machines of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

This invention relates to flour packing machines of the type 'illustratedde'scribed and claimed in anapplic'ation for Letters Patent of thefUnited Statesfiled by meJune 1, 1920,

Serial no. 385,565.

The present invention is concerned more particularly with means for controlling the operation of, the machine referred to,,and its mainland primary object is to so construct the machine that its operation, alter. the

initial starting, thereof, will continue automatically and without further attention by I the operator except to feed andposition properly theemptybags or sacks to be filled, and to remove the individual bags or sacks after the filling operation has been completed.

The invention further aims to provide controlling mechanism of the character mentioned which is positive in action; one wherein the operative parts are so organized and when such is required, and easilyreplaceable in the event of damage; and finally a controlling-mechanism which will. require but minimum POXVGI'vfOI. its operation in addition to that required for operation of the machine in the performance of its packing function.

The invention' -seeks: alsotoattain other objects and advantages which will appear as the nature-of the improvements is,better understood. the invention consisting substantially in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated 1111 the accompanying drawings and finally pointed out in the appended claims. One form of the-invention 1s disclosed herein by way of illustrating its practical embodiment, but this is not to be taken in a limiting or restrictive sense, the same serving to delineate an appropriation of the con.

cept to the purposesfor'which the invention is intended.

supply related as to be readily accessible for repair 1920. SerialNo. 385,536;

In the drawingsv Fig.1 is a'lront ele'vation'of aflour packing machine .Wher'ein is incorporiitteid n automatic controlling mechanisincbnstructd in accordance with the piies'ent invention;

Fig. 2 is' a side elevation tlijer'eof;

Fig. 3 isa detail perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the' jc'lutchmechanism forming part of e the automatic control; together with the means f;fior actiii1ting,the

same.

"The flour pa'ckinghrnachine with the here'indescribed -,automatic controlling mechanism is: employed isv made the] subjectmatter or the application ror'Leitiers Bate it 'QOIR: the United, States jfiled June 1,; 1920,

semi 1%. 385,565, hereinbeto're irerrrg'dua.

7 It will, therefore, beunnecessar to describe ,in detail that machine, but, the generalflfeatures thereof. will .be. pointed out. for. a com .prehensive understanding of the relation .of the, controlling. mec'hanisni herein. disclosed to those particular .lt'eatures. Referring, ltherelore in' detail. to a the accompanying (llt1\Vll'lgS,f the numeral. 10- designates a pair oil-verticalsupporting. standards, whichncomprise a part ,of the frame-work. =Between,

these standards is locateda feed-.hoppenll to theupper portion;of whichais-conneoted a chute 12 leading roman elevated source of the flour to be packed. Kline-deed of the flour from the chute- 12 to the hopper 11 is controlled bya slidin D gate 13, actuated by an'operating lever 14; suitably connected thereto. 7 1

At the head of, the supportingfstandards 1.0 and disposed at opposite sides io'f -the frame is (a. pair ofiihorizontal supporting At the opposite 'side of the chute 12, ,andlocated at the upper portion of the machine frame,. is a feeduclutch -meclianisn1;19 mconnectedto a packing,shaftQOdispoSd v'eriti cally' of the machine, said clutch mechanism 19 providing an intermediate driving connection between the packing shaft 20 and the line shaft 16. The shaft 20 passes downwardly through the feed-hopper 11, and within the latter said shaft is equipped with a plurality of packing angers (not shown) which serve to force the flour or other material downwardly through the hopper 11 at the lower end of which is arranged a discharge nozzle 21. The to be filled is applied to the lower end of said discharge nozzle, and the packing angers within the hopper 11 serve to force the flour downwardly into the bag arranged on the nozzle 21 in which the flour is compactly pressed as the bag is filled.

The numeral 22 designates a bag supporting carriage which is mounted for vertical movement between the frame members 10. This includes a horizontally disposed shelf 23 on which the bag to be filled is supported, and said carriage 22 is connected to a plurality of counter-weights by means of a sprocket chain 24 which is trained over a sprocket wheel 25 mounted on a controlling shaft 26 which is journaled on the machine frame and arranged at the rear of the feedhopper 11. Rotation of the controlling shaft 26 is retarded by friction mechanism 27, and when the action of this friction mechanism is removed from said shaft 26 its speed of rotation is increased by accelerating mechanism 28 in order to give to the carriage 22 a uick downward movement after the bag as been filled.

For manually starting the packing shaft 20 and the angers carried thereby an operating lever 29 is employed. This is pivoted to a connecting rod 30 which extends upwardly and has its upper end pivotally connected to an actuating arm 31 which, in turn, is connected to the clutch mechanism 19 and by which the driving relation of said clutch mechanism to the driving shaft 16 is controlled.

The elements of construction above described constitute generally the main features of the flour packing machine for the control of which the hereindescribed mechanism is designed. The purpose of the present mechanism is to afford an automatic control of the machine in question, thus relieving the operator of the necessity for starting the machine at the filling of each individual To the attainment of this end a control shaft 32 is arranged at the head of the machine in proximity to the feed clutch mechanism 19. Normally this shaft does not rotate; that is to say, it remains inactive until the supporting carriage 22 is elevated to a point where the bag to be filled is held in proper relation to the discharge nozzle 21 of the hopper 11. To maintain the control mechanism inactive the carriage 22, at the upper end of one of its sides, is provided with an outwardly extending engaging lug 33. Pivotally mounted on the ad acent supporting member of the frame, as by a bracket 34, is an L-shaped locking pawl 35 having a handle 36 by which the pawl may be swung into and out of the path of engaging lug 33. When positioned over the engaging lug 33v the pawl 35 prevents upward movement of the carriage 22 to the full limit of its movement in. such direction, and the controlling mechanism, therefore, is prevented from operating. When, however, the pawl 35 is swung out of the path of said lug 33 the carriage 22 may move to its full limit of upward movement, and the controlling mechanism then becomes operative as will presently appear.

Arranged at the upper end of the side of the carriage 22 opposite to that whereon the engaging lug 33 is positioned is an attaching bracket 37 in which is journaled a contact roller 38. The roller 38 is designed to engage and move over an inclined contact face 39 formed at the lower end of a clutch shifting lever 40. This lever has its upper end fulcrumed, as at 41, to an overhanging arm 42 formed on a bearing bracket in which one end of the control shaft 32 mounted for rotation. The bearing bracket is carried by one of the frame members at the head of the machine. Suitably connected to the upper portion of the shifting lever is a clutch member 44 which is mounted to rotate with the shaft 32 but capable of sliding movement thereon. The clutch member 44 cooperates with a second clutch member 45 which is loosely mounted on the shaft and to which a driven pulley 46 is connected. This pulley preferably receives its power from the shaft 18 actuated by the worm-gearing 17 which is com nected to the line shaft 16. When the clutch member 44 is engaged with the clutch member 45 the shaft 32 is coupled with the pulley 46 and driven thereby. Tl is pulley rotates constantly so long as the line shaft 16 is in operation.

Fixedly connected to the control shaft at the end oppositeto that on which the pulley'46 is mounted is a double groove worm-sleeve 47, and associated with said worm-sleeve is a traveller-sleeve 48 at the upper portion of which is located a guii ae lug The lug 49 is arranged between a pair of parallel guides 50 which are can ried by a bearing 51 through which. the shaft 32 passes. The guides 50 are arran above the worm-sleeve 47, and the traveller.

sleeve 48 is thus maintained properly snp ported in relation to said worm-sleeve for travel longitudinally thereof. Depending from the worm-sleeve 48 is an inclined contact shoe 52 which cooperates with a con- "surrounding the same, the bag thus being filled, and causing downward movement of the carriage 22 so that the bag may be positioned for removal from the carriage when the filling operation is completed. When the traveller-sleeve 48 reaches the limit of its inward movement on the wormsleeve its direction of travelis reversed by the reversely arranged groove of said sleeve, and this causes the shoe 52 .to move in an outward direction or away from the feed clutch mechanism 19. In this outward movement it will be seen that the lever 31 is free to move upwardly, and this upward movement is induced by a coil spring 54 which is connected to the rod and the machine frame. This occurs after the bag has been filled, and when said lever 31 is thus actuated the packing shaft 20 is broughttorest and no further discharge of the flour from the nozzle 21 take place until a new empty container is placed thereon and the shoe 52 again moved inwardly to actuate the feed clutch mechanism 19.

. At the lower end ofthe clutch-shifting lever is located horizontally disposed outwardly extending locking lug v55 having an inclined toe 56. A latch lever 57 is pivotally connected, as at 58, to the adjacent latch lever is designed toengage the looking lug 55 in rear of theinclined toe 56. The inner end of said latch-lever 57 appropriately shaped for such engagement.

The outer'end of the lever 57 is connected to a link 59 the upper end of which is pivoted to the horizontal arm 60 of a bell crank lever pivoted, as at 61, tothe overhanging arm 42. The vertical arm 62 of said bell-crank lever is pivoted to a push-rod 63,'said push-rod being pivoted to a crank arm 64 carried by a rock shaft 65 mounted in a vertical support 66 in which the extremity of the shaft 32 is journaled. Depending from said rock shaft 65 is a contact arm 67 the lower extremity of which is in the path of movement of the traveller-sleeve 48 on its outward stroke. Thus it will be bers 4:4: and 415 are-engaged, and this imparts continuous rotation to the shaft 32 long asthis engagement continues. Th

latching of the lever57- with the lug 55 is made possible by the outward movement of the lower end of the lever 40 induced contact of the roller 38 with'the inclined contact face 39 on the upward movement of the carriage 22. When, however,-the carriage 22 moves downwardly and the roller 38 is removed from cooperative relation with i the inclined contact face 39, the'lower end of the shifting lever 40 is retained in its outer position by engagement of't-he lug 55 by the latch lever 57. Releaseofthe lever 40 from the latch 57 does not occur until 5-; after the bag has been filled, and such release takes place when thetraveller-sleeve 48 has moved outwardly away from feed clutch mechanism 19 into contact with the lever 67, whereupon the shaft 65 is rocked, the crank arm 64 moves inwardly thus rockpush-rod 63, and the link 59 moves downdisengagement of the clutch memberyd with respect to the member -45 ensues. As this brings the shaft .32 to rest there is nofur their inward movement of the shoe 52 for actuating the feed clutch mechanism 19 til the bag supporting carriage 22v again ing the bell-crank lever connected to the i I moves upwardly to swing the clutch shiftv V ing lever 40 outwardly by reasonof .con-- tact of the roller 38 with the inclined cont-"" tact face 39.

From the foregoing obvious that so long as the upward movedescription it will be ment of the carriage 22" to its-full limit is not prevented by engagem nt of the lug 33 w1th the locking pawl 35 the flour packing filling of successive bags as they are; prethe same, when filled, from the carriage 22 after the latter has been moved downwardly The rise of the caraway from said nozzlev ria e andits cooperation with-the clutch- U machine will operate automatically for the 1 V frame member 10, and the inner end of said shiiting lever O-starts operation of the packing shaft 20 and its augers within the discharge hopper 11,- and" its movement.

downwardly from thelevcr d0 enables freemovement of this lever when the latch lever 57 is released from its engagement at thetime the traveller-sleeve as reaches its out ward limit of movement.

it will be observed that by control mechanism above described the ex.- tent of operation of the feeding mechanism for filling each receptacleis positively predetermined, that is, the feed shaft 20 will be operated a-certain number of. revolutions'inivirtue of the-leach period of-operation. This secures a feed of a uniform amount of material into each receptacle, irrespective of rations in the size of the receptacles. .ln the filling of bags particularly, this is of distinct advantage, as such receptacles are likely to rary materially in capacity, due both to maccuracies in their manufacture and to their stretching during the packing operation. virtue of the control mechanism constltuting the present invention the feeding of the material will be stopped automatically soon as the desired quantity is deposited in the receptacle, and the operation of the machine will continue automatically from that point to position the filled receptacle for removal and to po *ition the carriage for th filling of the succeeding receptacle.

1 claim:

1. ln a machine of the class described, the combination with means for feeding the ma terial to be packed, of a support for the bag to be filled movable towards and away from said feeding means, driving mechanism, a

control shaft, starting mechanism associated with said control shaft for initiating operation thereof when the bag support is moved towards the feeding means, mechanism operated by said control shaft for establishing driving relation between the driving mechanism and the feeding means, and means operable through 'instromentalit of the control shaft to disconnect and the feed ing means from said driving i'nechanismv terial to be packed, of a support for the bag extent of operation to be filled movable towards and away from saic feeding means, a control shaft, driving mechanism for operating said control shaft and the feeding means, clutch mechanism for connecting the driving mechanism with said control shaft for driving the latter, means operable by the support for locking the clutch mechanism in driving relation to said control shaft, feed control means act. t i by said control shaft to connect the driving mechanism with the feeding' means, and means operated by the feed control a for disconnecting the driving mechanism from said feeding means.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with mea for feeding the material to be packed, of a support for the bag'to be filled movable towards and away from said. feeding means, driving mechanism for said feeding means, a control shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said con trol shaft for controlling operation thereof, means actuated by the movement of the bag supporttowards the feeding means for looking said clutch mechanism in driving relation to said control shaft, a controlling deto M9 said re cting means, driving mechanism for said feed I means, a control shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said control shaft for controlling operation of the same, means controlled by the bag support on its movement towards the feeding means for locking the clutch mechanism in engagement with said control shaft, a reciprocating traveller associated with said control shaft and operatively related "to the driving mechanism to connect the latter with the feeding means in one direction of movement of said traveller, and means operated by said traveller in its other direction of movement for permitting disengagement of the clutch mechanism from said control shaft.

5. In machine of the class described, the combination with means for feeding the material to be packed, of a support for the bag to be lilleo, driving mechanism for said feeding means, a control shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said control shaft for controlling operation of the same, a shifting lever associated with said clutch mechanism and actuated by the bag support on its movement towards the feeding means to engage the clutch mechanism with said control shaft, means for locking said shifting lever to maintain the engaged relation of the clutch mecl'ianism with said control shaft, a reciproosting traveller associated with said control shaft and operatively related to said driving mechanism to connect the latter with the feeding means on one direction of movement of said traveller, and means actuated by said traveller on the other direction of its movement to permit release of the shifting lever to disengage the clutch mechanism from said control shaft,

('3. In a machine of the class described,the con'ibination with means for feeding the material to be packed, of a support for the bag to be filled movable towards and away from said feeding means, driving mechanism for said feeding means, a control shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said control shaft for controlling operation thereof, a shifting lever adapted to be actuated by the bag support on its movement towards the feeding means for operating said clutch mechanism to engage the latter with said control shaft,

contact shoecarriedby said traveller, an

actuating lever associated with said driving mechanism and adapted to beengaged by said contact shoe to connect the driving mechanism with the feeding means on one direction of movement of the reciprocating traveller, and means connected to said latch lever and actuated by said traveller inthe other direction of its movement to release the latch lever from engagement with .the shifting lever and'disengage the clutch mechanism from said control shaft.

7. In amachine of the class described,the-

combination with means for feeding the ma terial to be packed, of a support for the bag to be filled movable towards and away from said feeding means, driving mechanism for said feedingmeans, a control shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said control shaft for controlling operation of the same, a shifting lever associated ith said clutch mechanism and actuated by the bag support on its movement towards the feeding means, whereby to engage the clutch mechanism with the control shaft, means for locking said shifting lever to maintain the engaged relation of the clutch mechanism with said control shaft, a doublegrooved worm associatedwith said control shaft, a reciprocating'traveller mounted on said worm and operativelyrelated to the driving' mechanism for connecting the latter with the feeding means on one direction of movement of said traveller on said worm, and means for releasing said shifting leveron the other direction of-said traveller to disengage the clutch mechanism from said control shaft.

8. In a machine of the classdescribed, the combination with means for feeding the material to be packed. of a support for the bag to be filled movable towardsand away from said feeding means, drivingimechanism for said feeding means, a control shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said control shaft for controlling operation of the same, a shifting lever associated with said clutch mechanism for engaging the latter with said control shaft, said shifting lever being 0peratively related to said bag support to establish driving relation of the clutch mechanism with said control shaft on movement of the bag support towards the feeding means, means for locking said shifting lever to maintain the clutch mechanism insaid driving relation to said control shaft, a reciprocating traveller associated with said control shaft, a contact shoe carried by said reciprocating traveller and having operative connection with said driving mechanism to connect the latter with said feeding means on one direction of movement of said traveller, a rock shaft operativelyrelated to said reciprocating travellerto be actuated by the latter on the other direction of its move-.

ment, andconnections between said rock shaft and the locking mechanism of the shifting lever for'actuating said locking iec'hanism to release theshifting lever and disconnect the driving mechanism from the feeding means.

9, In a machine of the class described, the

combination with means for feeding the material to be packed, of asupport for the bag to be filled movable towards. and away from said feeding means, driving mechanism for said feeding means, a control. shaft, clutch mechanism associated with said control shaft for controlling operation thereof, a shifting lever for controlling said clutch mechanism and adapted to be actuated by the bag support on its movement toward the feeding means for operating said clutch mechanism to engage the latter with said control shaft, a latch lever; pivotally-mounted for engagement with said shifting lever to lock the clutch mechanism in engagement with said control shaft, a reciprocating travr eler associated with said control shaft,

meansfor causing said traveler to move in one direction onsaid shaft and to reverse its direction of movement ata predetermined" limit, a contact shoe carried bysald traveler and having an inclined face, an actuatlng lever associated with said driving.

mechanism and adapted to be engaged-by the inclined face of. said contact shoe to connect the driving mechanism with the feeding means on one direction of'movement of the reciprocating traveler, and mechanism effective upon said latch lever and op' eratedfby said traveler in-Cthe other-directionof its movement, whereby to release the. latch lever from engagement with the shiftmg lever to disengage the-clutch inechanisnr from said control shaft. r

10. In a machine of. the class described, the combination with meansrfor feedingdthe material to be packed, of a support for the bag to be filled'movable towards and away from said feeding means, driving mechanism for said feeding means, a control shaft, clutch mechanism for controlling operation of said control shaft, a shifting lever pivotally mounted in proximity to said clutch mechanism and connected thereto for controlling the same, said shifting lever being actuated by the bag support on its movement toward thefeeding means for operating said clutch mechanism to engage the latter with said shaft, a locking toe carried by said shifting lever, a latch lever pivotally mounted for engagement with said locking toe of said shifting lever to lock the clutch mechanism in engagement with saidshaft, a reciprocating traveler associated with said shaft, means for causing said traveler to move in one direction on said shaft and to reverse its movement of direction at a predetermined limit, contact shoe carried by said traveler and having an inclined face,

an actuating lever associated with said drivreceptacle on the support, a drive shaft,

feed clutch mechanism for operably connecting the feeding mechanism with the drive shaft, and clutch control. mechanism operable by the support to throw the clutch in and by the drive shaft to throw the clutch out.

12. In a packaging machine, in combination, a drive shaft, a receptacle support movable to filling position independently of the drive shaft, feeding mechanism for feeding material to a receptacle on the support, feed clutch mechanism for operably connecting the drive shaft and feeding mechanism, clutch control mechanism operable by the drive shaft to throw the feed clutch mechanism in and out of connection, and starting means operable by the support for rendering the drive shaft efl'ective on the clutch control mechanism.

13. In a packaging machine, in combination, a drive shaft, a receptacle support, feeding mechanism for feeding material to a receptacle on said support, feed clutch mechanism for operably connecting the drive shaft and feeding mechanism, clutch control mechanism rendered effective through operation of the drive shaft to dis connect the feeding mechanism therefrom independently of the receptacle support, and starting means operable by the receptacle support to render the drive shaft effective on the clutch control mechanism.

1a. In a packaging machine, in combination, a drive shaft, a movable receptacle sup-- port, feeding means for feeding material to a receptacle on said support against resist ance of the latter, feed clutch mechanism for operably connecting the drive shaft to the feeding mechanism, clutch control mechanism for shifting said clutch, means operable by the support toinitiateoperation of the clutch control. mechanism, and means operable by the clutch control mechanism to determine its extent of operation.

15. In a packaging machine, in combination, a drive shaft, feeding mechanism, a receptacle support, means for moving said receptacle support toward and from the feeding mechanism, a clutch for controlling operation of the feeding mechanism, clutch control mechanism operable by the drive shaft to release the clutch, and means operable by the support to initiate operation of the clutch control mechanism.

16. In a packaging machine, in combination, a movable support for a receptacle, feeding mechanism for, supplying material to a receptacle on said support, a continuously operating drive shaft, feed clutch mechanism for operably connecting said shaft to said feeding mechanism, clutch control mechanism operable by said drive shaft, and means operable by the support to render the drive shaft effective on the clutch con trol mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY OB. HARDING.

Witnesses:

F. D. MCCARTHY, J. N. MULLIKEN. 

